Competing with Free: The Impact of Movie Broadcasts on Dvd Sales and Internet Piracy

2009 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 58

Authors: Smith, Michael D.; Telang, Rahul

Abstract: The creative industries have frequently expressed concern that they can't compet ... Expand

Abstract: The creative industries have frequently expressed concern that they can't compete with freely available copies of their content. Competing with free is particularly concerning for movie studios, whose content may be more prone to single-use consumption than other industries such as music. This issue has gained renewed importance recently with the advent of new digital video recording and distribution technologies, and the widespread availability of Internet piracy. We examine competition between "free" and paid video content in two important contexts: the impact of legitimate free distribution in one channel on sales through paid channels, and the impact of illegitimate free distribution in pirated channels on sales through paid channels. We do this by studying the impact of movie broadcasts on DVD demand and the impact of piracy availability at the time of broadcast on DVD demand. Our data include all movies shown on over-the-air and cable television during an eight-month period in 2005--2006. With respect to the impact of movie broadcasts on piracy and sales, we find that movie broadcasts on over-the-air networks result in a significant increase in both DVD sales at Amazon.com and illegal downloads for those movies that are available on BitTorrent at the time of broadcast. With respect to the impact of piracy on sales, we use the television broadcast as an exogenous demand shock and find that the availability of pirated content at the time of broadcast has no effect on post-broadcast DVD sales gains. Together our results suggest that creative artists can use product differentiation and market segmentation strategies to compete with freely available copies of their content. Specifically, the post-broadcast increase in DVD sales suggests that giving away content in one channel can stimulate sales in a paid channel if the free content is sufficiently differentiated from its paid counterpart. Likewise, our finding that the presence of pirated content does not cannibalize sales for the movies in our sample suggests that if free and paid products appeal to separate customer segments, the presence of free products need not harm paid sales. Collapse

Topics: DVD BitTorrent advertising management product differentiation legal context

Methods: propensity score method experiment propensity score matching experimental group qualitativ observational study

Theories: economic theory

Editorial: JSIS Security and Privacy Special Issue

2007 | Journal of Strategic Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Dhillon, Gurpreet; Backhouse, James; Ray, Amy

Abstract: ... Expand

Abstract: Collapse

Topics: IT security privacy technology adoption radio frequency identification intellectual property

Methods: qualitative content analysis synthesis

Preventing application software piracy: An empirical investigation of technical copy protections

2007 | Journal of Strategic Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Djekic, Petar; Loebbecke, Claudia

Abstract: To counteract application software piracy, software publishers have been impleme ... Expand

Abstract: To counteract application software piracy, software publishers have been implementing preventive technical copy protections into their software products. However, scientific research has not yet empirically investigated to what extent technical copy protections avoid illegal copying. Investigating this question, the paper studies the influence of technical copy protections on application software piracy. We apply descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression to data collected from a survey of international software users. We show that technical protections fail in protecting application software from being illegally copied; none of the measures studied significantly avoids piracy. From this, we firstly derive implications for software publishers and researchers and secondly suggest directions for future research. Collapse

Topics: copy protection digital piracy computer hardware electronic mail information system use

Methods: survey logistic regression goodness of fit statistical test likelihood-ratio test statistical hypothesis test

Theories: technology acceptance model

Analysis of the Impact of Movie Broadcasts on DVD Sales and Internet Piracy

2007 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Smith, Michael; Telang, Rahul

Abstract: Movie studios have long believed that home video recording damages the market fo ... Expand

Abstract: Movie studios have long believed that home video recording damages the market for movies broadcast on free television. This issue has gained renewed importance with the advent of highdefinition television, causing movie studios to argue that consumer recording of digital video will result in increased piracy and reduced DVD demand. Collapse

Topics: DVD BitTorrent internet technology digital piracy copy protection

Methods: hierarchical linear modeling experiment

Strategies for Digital Music Markets: Pricing and the Effectiveness of Measures Against Pirate Copies

2005 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Bauxmann, Peter; Pohl, Gerrit; Johnscher, Patrick; Strube, Jochen; Groffmann, Hans-Dieter

Abstract: The recording industry is still facing a global decline in revenues and record ... Expand

Abstract: The recording industry is still facing a global decline in revenues and record sales. Paid music services have failed to deliver on their promise of a full-catalog shopping experience so far, and filesharing platforms are still widely used for obtaining online music. In this context we conducted an empirical study via the Internet with 2.260 participants. The main results are:Neither the installation of copy protection measures nor legal actions against users of file-sharing platforms seem to be appropriate means to increase sales of CDs and online music. Potential consumers' willingness to pay is distinctly lower than the prices currently set by the available paid music services.Our study's results suggest that a price cut for music downloads would lead to increased sales, thus creating benefits for both suppliers and consumers. Collapse

Topics: willingness to pay internet technology copy protection price management sharing platform

Methods: survey regression analysis method experiment

The Impact of Technical Copy Protection and Internet Services Usage on Software Piracy

2005 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Djekic, Petar; Loebbecke, Claudia

Abstract: Software piracy has recently gained enormous attention, not only in the context ... Expand

Abstract: Software piracy has recently gained enormous attention, not only in the context of P2P-networks. As one countermeasure against software piracy, publishers have been implementing Digital Rights Management systems such as technical copy protection measures into their software products. This paper examines the impact of different technical copy protection measures and Internet services usage on software piracy using data from an internationally organized online survey. The results show that technical protection measures fail to achieve their protection goals, as none of the studied protection measures completely avoids piracy. A higher level of copy protection does not always make a legal software installation more likely. In contrast, a low level of protection does not necessarily lead to intense illegal copying. P2P- and Chat-networks compromise the security of technical copy protections as they provide access to cracked software copies, fostering software piracy. Based on our results, we discuss the impact of our findings on the publishers' anti-piracy strategy from an economic point of view and present possible security improvements for hardware- and software-based copy protections. Collapse

Topics: copy protection internet technology logistics management digital piracy peer-to-peer model

Methods: survey logistic regression regression analysis method goodness of fit statistical test

Information goods pricing and copyright enforcement: Welfare analysis

2003 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 83

Authors: Chen, Yeh-ning; Png, Ivan

Abstract: W e consider how the government should set the fine for copying, tax on copying ... Expand

Abstract: W e consider how the government should set the fine for copying, tax on copying medium, and subsidy on legitimate purchases, whereas a monopoly publisher sets price and spending on detection. There are two segments of potential software users-ethical users who will not copy, and unethical users who would copy if the benefit outweighs the cost. In deciding on policy, the government must consider how the publisher adjusts price and detection to changes in the fine, tax, and subsidy. Our key welfare result is that increases in detection affect welfare more negatively than price cuts. We also show that the tax is welfare superior to the fine, and that a subsidy is optimal. Generally, government policies that focus on penalties alone will miss the social welfare optimum. (Copyright; Pricing; Enforcement) CHEN AND PNG Information Goods Pricing and Copyright Enforcement Collapse

Topics: price management information good economic surplus IS economics computer software

Methods: hazard function